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1974-75 NHL Season
The 1974–75 NHL season was the 58th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts were added, increasing the number of teams to 18. To accommodate the new teams, the NHL re-organized its divisional structure and playoff format. The Philadelphia Flyerswon the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year. |} http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=1 editLeague business With the addition of two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts, the NHL bumped up the number of games from 78 to 80 and split the previously two-division league into four divisions and two conferences. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were also removed until 1993. The East Division became the'Prince of Wales Conference' and consisted of the Adams Division and Norris Division and the West Division became the Clarence Campbell Conference and consisted of the Patrick Division and Smythe Division. The Patrick and Norris Divisions would switch conferences following the 1980–81 season. This further expansion was considered ill-conceived by many, and with the World Hockey Association (WHA) continuing to drain talent away, the Capitals had the worst season ever recorded in the history of major professional hockey, and the third worst in the postwar era the following season, while the Scouts the following season would have the fifth worst record of the postwar era. In early 1975, newspapers reported that the California Golden Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976-77 season. After staunchly rejecting previous franchise relocation attempts, league president Clarence Campbell saw this as a method by which the NHL might extricate itself from two problem markets, while honoring the expansion commitments it had made. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=2 editRegular season For the first time ever in the National Hockey League, there was a three-way tie for first place overall. The respective divisional leaders of the Norris, Patrick, and Adams all had 113 points. The Vancouver Canucks, which had been playing in the original East Division since they debuted in the league, were moved over to the Campbell Conference and led the way in the Smythe Division with a meager 86 points. Bobby Orr won the scoring title for the second time, the only defenceman in the history of the NHL to accomplish this feat. The surprise team of the year were the Los Angeles Kings. When the new divisional lineup was announced, many hockey experts felt the Montreal Canadiens were in the weakest division and joked they would clinch 1st place by Christmas.[citation needed] But the Kings, with their disciplined defensive style, and excellent goaltending tandem of Rogie Vachon and Gary Edwards, battled Montreal all year for 1st place. The Kings opened their season by beating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia and tying the Canadiens in Montreal. The Kings lost only twice in their first 26 games, and on Christmas, Montreal had only a 2-point lead in the standings. When L.A. won in Montreal in mid-January, they were back in 1st place. The teams continued to battle, with the Canadiens finally clinching 1st place with 3 games to play. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=3 editFinal standings Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=4 editPrince of Wales Conference [1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=5 editClarence Campbell Conference [1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=6 editPlayoffs With the new conference and division structure, the 1975 playoffs used a new format. The playoffs were expanded from 8 to 12 teams with the top 3 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs. The first place teams in each division earned a first round bye, while the second and third place teams were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season record and played a best 2 out of 3 "mini-series." The four division winners then joined the 4 mini series winners in the quarter finals, and they were again re-seeded 1–8 based on regular season record. This re-seeding would take place again in the semi finals, and is used in the current playoff format (although it was not used between 1982 and 1993). Proponents of this re-seeding state that it makes the regular season more important by rewarding teams with better records with potentially easier matchups. In addition, it avoids the potential issue of two lower seeded teams (who may have pulled early round upsets) playing each other in the next round while two higher seeded teams are playing each other (as is possible in a "bracketed" playoff format like in the NBA). The biggest beneficiary of this format was the Vancouver Canucks, who were ninth in the regular season but received a first-round bye for winning the relatively weak Smythe Division. The ones who suffered from this were the Los Angeles Kings, who had the 4th best overall record but had to play in the risky mini series where they were upset by the Toronto Maple Leafs 2 games to 1. During the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs, the New York Islanders, playing in their first playoffs since their inception in the 1972–73 NHL season, nearly managed an incredible series of upsets to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. After upsetting the New York Rangers two games to one in the preliminary round, the Islanders found themselves behind the Pittsburgh Penguins three games to none in the best-of-seven series in the quarterfinal round. The Islanders rallied to win the next four games and take the series 4–3. The only other NHL teams to accomplish the feat of rallying from a 3–0 game deficit to win, were the Toronto Maple Leafsin the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers. In the semifinal round of the playoffs, the Islanders nearly did it again. Rallying from another three games to none deficit, they won the next three games to force a seventh game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers took the decisive seventh game at home to win the series and went on to win the Stanley Cup. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=7 editPlayoff bracket http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=8 editPreliminary Round http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=9 edit(4) Los Angeles Kings vs. (12) Toronto Maple Leafs http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=10 edit(6) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (10) St. Louis Blues http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=11 edit(7) New York Rangers vs. (8) New York Islanders http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=12 edit(5) Boston Bruins vs. (11) Chicago Black Hawks http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=13 editQuarterfinals http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=14 edit(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (12) Toronto Maple Leafs http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=15 edit(6) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (8) New York Islanders http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=16 edit(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (11) Chicago Black Hawks http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=17 edit(3) Montreal Canadiens vs. (9) Vancouver Canucks http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=18 editSemifinals http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=19 edit(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) New York Islanders http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=20 edit(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens Finals Main article: 1975 Stanley Cup FinalsThe Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres four games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=22 editNHL awards http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=23 editAll-Star teams Source: NHL.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=24 editPlayer statistics http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=25 editScoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Source: NHL.[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=26 editLeading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=27 editDebuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1974–75 (listed with their first team): *Guy Chouinard, Atlanta Flames *Danny Gare, Buffalo Sabres *Charlie Simmer, California Golden Seals *Wilf Paiement, Kansas City Scouts *Dave Hutchison, Los Angeles Kings *Clark Gillies, New York Islanders *Bob Bourne, New York Islanders *Rick Middleton, New York Rangers *Ron Greschner, New York Rangers *Bob MacMillan, New York Rangers *Pierre Larouche, Pittsburgh Penguins *Tiger Williams, Toronto Maple Leafs *Harold Snepsts, Vancouver Canucks http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=28 editLast games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1974–75 (listed with their last team): *Murray Oliver, Minnesota North Stars *Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens *Bobby Rousseau, New York Rangers *Ted Harris, Philadelphia Flyers *Eddie Shack, Toronto Maple Leafs *Norm Ullman, Toronto Maple Leafs *Doug Mohns, Washington Capitals NOTE: Ullman would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=29 editSee also *List of Stanley Cup champions *1974 NHL Amateur Draft *1974 NHL Expansion Draft *28th National Hockey League All-Star Game *National Hockey League All-Star Game *List of WHA seasons *1974 in sports *1975 in sports http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=30 editReferences *Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. *Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 9781894801225. *Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0771041799. *Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc.. ISBN 0785396241. ;Notes #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974-75_NHL_season#cite_ref-nhl-gd-standings_0-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974-75_NHL_season#cite_ref-nhl-gd-standings_0-1 ''b] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974-75_NHL_season#cite_ref-nhl-gd-standings_0-2 c''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974-75_NHL_season#cite_ref-nhl-gd-standings_0-3 ''d] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225. #'^' Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 229. ISBN 9781894801225. #'^' Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season&action=edit&section=31 editExternal links *Hockey Database *NHL.com